ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A Georgia airplane restoration company accused of salvaging parts from a crash site in Alaska has settled with federal prosecutors over unauthorized use of public land.

The U.S. attorney's office in Alaska said in a written statement that B-25 Group LLC of Douglas, Ga., will pay $55,000, ending a five-year investigation.

The company was accused of taking airplane parts from the 1950 crash of an F-82 Twin Mustang on the Tanana Flats, south of Fairbanks.

Three F-82s took off from Ladd Air Force Base, now the Fairbanks Army post Fort Wainwright, for a practice flight in January 1950. One crashed, killing both men aboard, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Salvagers from the Georgia company found the crash site in 2008 and removed some parts of the plane for use in another restored plane, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the company initially asserted that the parts were legally acquired from a salvage yard in Fairbanks. A message left Friday morning with the company wasn't immediately returned.

The Bureau of Land Management will receive $50,000 for further recovery of the crash site. The remainder is considered a civil penalty and will be used for the protection of other historic aviation sites, prosecutors said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, and spam will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides